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instep
review
Investing in her signature: The arrival of
Nida Azwer
Nida Azwer strikes out on her own by making the move few dare
to do - funding her own debut fashion show - and makes her mark
felt on the burgeoning scene of bridal couture. Instep takes a look
at the significance of this move and why Azwer's show is one of
the highlights of this year's fashion calendar.
By Saba
Imtiaz |
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| As fashionable debuts go, upcoming designer Nida Azwer's
first show was in a league of its own. The venue for her
show was a sight to behold for its artistic value alone,
with a picture-perfect all-white dŽcor and runway,
replete with a canopy of white origami birds and a revolving
mirror that served as the entrance point for the models.
But what made this debut stand out was the fact that in
recent history it has been rare for a designer to launch
themselves on their own standing. Azwer, who has already
become fairly popular for her bridal couture amongst Karachi's
wedding circles, chose to steer the course of her own
debut. This young designer invested a significant amount
of money to organize her own fashion showing at the Marriott
in Karachi last week - and with a team of stylists from
Nabila's with Altaf at the helm, Wow Factor and Lotus
PR - it was a showing on an almost grandiose level, befitting
the couture collection that Azwer put out. Azwer's move
to hold her own show came as a departure from her contemporaries
in the industry, who rarely do their own shows, but choose
to feature on the roster of the several corporate-funded
fashion shows that take place. |
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| While they continue to choose these platforms to launch
their collections from, Azwer's show came as a breath
of fresh air. For a newcomer to take the step is virtually
unheard of, but she managed to raise the bar for newcomers
making their debut in the industry, particularly in a
fairly competitive and well-established niche: bridal
couture. But while the show left an impact, there was
none of the punch and drama that one would have expected
from a runway show - labelled ÔA Curious MindÕ
- that could have served as the designer's personal playground.
If bridals are Pakistan's couture, then they must also
be served on the runway with a dose of styling and drama.
Any couture show worldwide even if it is one that features
traditional bridals, experiments with headgear and accessories,
stylizing the creations as a fantasy. This is the dramatic
edge that makes a great runway show, as Rizwan Beyg recently
proved at the Ensemble/TRC show with his dramatic and
very well stylized all-white collection. What Azwer's
show did do was provide an insight into her repertoire
as a designer. Divided into different segments, one was
presented with an entire range of what Azwer was capable
of. And for a buyer of bridal couture, this show must
have been a dream come true as Azwer presented creations
you could wear for every day of the week-long events weddings
are in our part of the world. |
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It wasn't just about the bridal wear though.
There was a range of traditional luxury prt, particularly
a number of tunics in luxe fabrics that the 'it' girls who shy
away from embellishment would adore. The tunics were modelled
to perfection by Karachi's own 'it' girls Fayeza Ansari and
Sanam Saeed. The rest of the show however, was Azwer's portraying
what she does best - bridal wear. Whether it was a range of
shimmering saris or heavily worked bridals, Azwer proved that
she is one of the designers who can take on from the legacy
of couturiers like Bunto Kazmi or Faiza Samee, who has honed
the craft of contemporary bridal wear in Pakistan. That said,
even couturiers like Kazmi and Samee have innovated over the
years to make contemporary bridals what they are today. As a
new designer, one would have expected Azwer to take it a step
further, but there was nothing new or cutting edge about her
designs. |
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| It felt like 'more of the same', another
chip off the block of bridal wear that is already so prevalent
in Pakistan. One didn't feel that there was any hallmark
or signature to Azwer's designs that came out of the show
- there was no sense of individuality. At the end of the
day, the show felt like an entire bridal trousseau was
being presented in a glitzy format. While that may work
well commercially, it did nothing for the innovation one
hopes that new designers will inject into the industry.
And while it would be mirrored entrance tried to make
up for that - and the music selectiIt felt like 'more
of the same', another chip off the block of bridal wear
that is already so prevalent in Pakistan. One didn't feel
that there was any hallmark or signature to Azwer's designs
that came out of the show - there was no sense of individuality.
At the end of the day, the show felt like an entire bridal
trousseau was being presented in a glitzy format. While
that may work well commercially, it did nothing for the
innovation one hopes that new designers will inject into
the industry. And while it would be unfair to compare
Nida to designers like Adnan Pardesy - who debuted at
Karachi Fashion Week last year - or Maheen Karim, the
reason they have emerged as designers to watch out for
is because they brought in a new design |
| ethos to their genre. The bridal wear market is already
reaching a point of saturation, given the amount of designers
there are in the field, both prominent and under-the-radar,
and the entire markets dedicated to embroidery and embellishment.
Azwer would be wise to take note of how Faiza Samee -
for example - took the concepts of traditionalism and
innovated with the colour palettes and workmanship to
made the 'bridal' look very cutting edge. Azwer also paid
homage to the age-old designs and colour schemes of yore
- in the same way that Kamiar Rokni did with his recent
Jalwana Collection - particularly with the intricate gota
work on some of the creations. It was an artful mix of
ideas culled from heirloom pieces combined with whimsical
additions like worked shrugs to the outfits. The finishing
of the collections was one that every aspiring designer
should aim to emulate for their full-fledged public debut.
But as with any solo show, there were several misses.
Add to that the lack of drama on the runway - though the
revolving mirrored entrance tried to make up for that
- and the music selection, at times one felt that the
show was dragging on unnecessarily, and it felt like watching
an endless wedding . That said, it did help one gauge
what Azwer's strengths were. And Azwer's strength, at
the end of the day, was her business acumen that made
her debut such a |
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far cry from the fashion shows happening these
days. Her show was an investment into her label. While Pakistan
does not have buyers who will place mass orders as yet, what
it does have is the wealthy clientele who are buyers of bridal
wear. And by inviting them to the showing, Azwer not only managed
to present her entire collection, but will also begin to recover
her investment by the orders she gets from the show. Right after
it had ended; women were overheard telling Azwer that they would
like to place orders on outfits they had seen on the ramp right
away. It does make one think, that when a new, young designer
can make the investment into a show, what holds back older,
more established designers from doing they same, considering
that they could sell five couture pieces and hold their own
show with the profit earned from it. Of course, Azwer's move
is business as usual abroad - where designers pay for their
own show and for every expense - but is rarely seen in Pakistan.
With a full-fledged fashion show, designers have the opportunity
to showcase multiple lines as opposed to being restricted. In
Pakistan however, this is yet a concept to catch on, where designers
seem to have taken corporate sponsorship of the fashion industry
for granted. While one would hope that that investment continues,
it is also imperative that designers take the first step and
build up their operations to be able to sustain themselves.
And so what one hopes others learn from Azwer's example is that
fashion shows serve as an essential marketing tool to the market
as well as to the public at large, and kill several birds with
one stone - attracting media attention, introducing the brand
and the designer's philosophy, the collections, as well as provides
a preview to the buyers in the audience. Now that Nida Azwer
has arrived, one expects to see this translate into much more
- with a hopeful and welcome honing of design and experimentation.
In any case, the Nida Azwer debut will go down as one of the
highlights of 2009's fashion calendar - younger designers, take
note!on, at times one felt that the show was dragging on unnecessarily,
and it felt like watching an endless wedding. That said, it
did help one gauge what Azwer's strengths were. And Azwer's
strength, at the end of the day, was her business acumen that
made her debut such a far cry from the fashion shows happening
these days. Her show was an investment into her label. While
Pakistan does not have buyers who will place mass orders as
yet, what it does have is the wealthy clientele who are buyers
of bridal wear. And by inviting them to the showing, Azwer not
only managed to present her entire collection, but will also
begin to recover her investment by the orders she gets from
the show. Right after it had ended; women were overheard telling
Azwer that they would like to place orders on outfits they had
seen on the ramp right away. It does make one think, that when
a new, young designer can make the investment into a show, what
holds back older, more established designers from doing they
same, considering that they could sell five couture pieces and
hold their own show with the profit earned from it. Of course,
Azwer's move is business as usual abroad - where designers pay
for their own show and for every expense - but is rarely seen
in Pakistan. |
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With a full-fledged fashion show, designers have the opportunity
to showcase multiple lines as opposed to being restricted. In
Pakistan however, this is yet a concept to catch on, where designers
seem to have taken corporate sponsorship of the fashion industry
for granted. While one would hope that that investment continues,
it is also imperative that designers take the first step and
build up their operations to be able to sustain themselves.
And so what one hopes others learn from Azwer's example is that
fashion shows serve as an essential marketing tool to the market
as well as to the public at large, and kill several birds with
one stone - attracting media attention, introducing the brand
and the designer's philosophy, the collections, as well as provides
a preview to the buyers in the audience. Now that Nida Azwer
has arrived, one expects to see this translate into much more
- with a hopeful and welcome honing of design and experimentation.
In any case, the Nida Azwer debut will go down as one of the
highlights of 2009's fashion calendar - younger designers, take
note! |
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Photography by Kohi Marri
and Umme Hamdani -
Event management by Wow Factor
Styling and choreography by Nabila's
Creative team - Accessories by Fahad Chottani
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